Arsenal vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,261.
Report and free highlights as Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League with a 2-0 loss at West Ham; Tomas Soucek's early opener was tinged with controversy with VAR unable to determine whether ball went out in build up; Dinos Mavropanos scored the Hammers' second
Friday 29 December 2023 00:32, UK
Arsenal missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as Tomas Soucek's controversial first-half strike, then Dinos Mavropanos' header on his return to his former club earned West Ham a 2-0 London derby win.
The Gunners controlled the first half with chances but West Ham's Soucek tapped home from close range on 13 minutes from Jarrod Bowen's cross from the byline - but VAR took a long look at whether the ball had gone out of play from the assist.
A three-and-a-half minute VAR check resulted in the goal being given with no clear angle available to determine whether it was in or out.
After half-time, returning defender Mavropanos, who played just eight times for the Gunners between 2018 and 2020, headed in a second for the visitors from James Ward-Prowse's corner.
With Arsenal's frustration growing after Bukayo Saka hit the post and Gabriel Jesus missed two big chances to bring the Gunners back into the contest, Declan Rice conceded a rash penalty against his former side for a foul on Emerson - but David Raya was equal to Said Benrahma's spot kick in the last act of the game.
Arsenal - who ended the game with 30 shots but failed to find the net - now lie two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, while West Ham have gone back above Manchester United into sixth.
But the main talking point was whether West Ham's first goal should have stood, with Arteta more focused on what his side did after that moment.
"I haven't seen it, they said the image was not conclusive. It's a shame that the technology is not clear enough. It's done, we move on," he said afterwards.
"I don't know but the technology we have at the moment, is not good enough to give you that answer. So what we have to do is without that, win the game, and with the situations we had today, we had more than enough."
West Ham were given a pre-match scare as Lucas Paqueta went down injured in the warm-up and hobbled down the touchline, but the Brazilian took to the field despite rumours he had been replaced by Benrahma.
Both sides showed their intent to attack early as Ward-Prowse blazed over from the edge of the area, while Saka fired straight at goalkeeper Alphonse Areola after entering the box from the right channel.
Then came West Ham's controversial opener as Emerson crossed and a mix-up between Gabriel and Oleksandr Zinchenko saw the ball nearly go out for a corner. On the byline, Bowen squared it to Soucek for a tap-in but question marks were raised over whether the ball had gone out.
A long VAR check ensued before the ball was eventually given, with replays showing no clear evidence that the ball had gone out, so the on-field decision stood.
Arsenal tried to find a response but only took until the half-hour mark to get some decent shots away. Gabriel Jesus clipped the ball up to Saka who nodded a shot towards goal, only for Areola to tip it over the bar using his one-handed reflexes.
Gabriel Martinelli curled wide from inside the box before Saka went even closer, striking the post from a tight angle from close range. Meanwhile, Paqueta's evening was ended in the first half, in an injury blow to the Hammers.
Arsenal showed more attacking intent after half-time as Declan Rice tried to steal the headlines against his former club but blazed just over from the edge of the box - and the £105m man ended up picking the ball out of his own net moments later.
Ward-Prowse whipped a corner in from the left and Mavropanos escaped Gabriel's clutches to head home unmarked via help from the underside of the bar. The Greek defender refused to celebrate against his former side.
Arteta reacted by bringing on Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah in attacking switches - and it nearly brought about success only for Jesus' wayward finishes denied the home side from a route back in.
First, the Brazilian striker met a cross from the right unmarked in the box but could only fire straight at Areola, who held it well. Then, Ben White stood up a glorious chance for Jesus to nod into an empty net, but his effort flew over.
Arsenal kept going and ended up mustering 30 shots on goal - the best after Jesus' misses falling to Leandro Trossard who was denied by Areola in the box.
There was still time for Rice to hack down Emerson as the Gunners' frustration overflowed. Benrahma took the penalty and went left, so did Raya, as the Arsenal goalkeeper avoided further damage to the scoreline.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
"Congratulations to West Ham and praise my players, that's what I can say. This is football. If you look at what we've done in the game, how much we generated and to see the result, it's disappointing.
"But they were better than us in both boxes. They had two shots, with the penalty, three. We had 30 shots in the box, I don't know how many touches, situations and open goals we had to score and in football you have to be better if you want to win. Today we haven't won because of that. The rest? The team kept trying and had an incredible attitude again.
"We have to try to generate. If we don't score in 30 shots, then we have to do 50 or 60. It's the only thing. I can't imagine more dominance or more touches in the box against a good West Ham side. Today it wasn't enough to win the game.
"It is, it's football. When a team generates that much, they normally win the game. We generated so much against Brighton and against Liverpool, we have to make the next step."
West Ham manager David Moyes:
"A brilliant defensive job. Terrific structure, organisation and discipline from the players. Arsenal played incredibly well and put us under so much pressure.
"We have to say there's a big part of football and that's defending, sometimes you don't want to talk about it, but we did a really good job. Arsenal used to make a living out of it if you remember.
"We defended fantastically and also showed other skills. We counter-attack quick. It was a brilliant team performance and all the players worked so hard.
"I don't know if you've seen Diego Simeone's comments, talking about Premier League defending, he thought the games were too much like 4-3s and 5-4s, and I actually thought it was right. Everyone wants the goals. But there's another part of football, and it's to be good defensively. To be hard to break down. We showed that tonight."
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz at the Emirates Stadium:
Mikel Arteta may be grateful that Arsenal's 2-0 loss to West Ham came just days before the January transfer window opens.
Thursday's night to forget showed why there are doubts that the Gunners can finish on top come May 19.
Thirty shots without a goal - including two big misses from Gabriel Jesus and little-to-no impact from attacking substitutes Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson - raises more questions about whether more firepower is needed, especially a centre forward.
But do Arsenal need a full-back too? Takehiro Tomiyasu is likely heading to the Asia Cup and Jurrien Timber is still on the injury list, which means there's too much focus on Oleksandr Zinchenko - and it's showing.
A poor outing against Mohamed Salah at Liverpool and then unconvincing for West Ham's first goal. Perhaps it may be time to move on from the Ukrainian, especially in the big games.
But what order these two positions sit on the priority list - and whether there are decent enough options out there - is still unclear.
Arsenal's next game is at Fulham on New Year's Eve, live on Super Sunday; kick-off 2pm.
The Gunners then host Liverpool in the FA Cup third round on Sunday January 7; kick-off 4.30pm.
West Ham are next in action on Tuesday when they host Brighton, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 7.30pm.
The Hammers then welcome Bristol City to the London Stadium in the FA Cup third round on Sunday January 7; kick-off 2pm.
